Stages of Life
by JustaPaperTiger
Summary: Short snippets of the life of Freya and Merlin with their son, Will.
1. Hello Will

Merlin ran down the corridors of the castle, rushing towards Gaius' chambers, where he had left Freya. His excitement had reached its peak and his hands were shaking as he grinned, taking a deep breath before opening the door.

"Melin," Freya smiled up at him, her sweaty hair plastered to her forehead, her breathing returning to steady, even breaths.

The shock of it all still hadn't worn off, the shock of being a father and to such a perfect little bundle as the raven haired newborn currently lay sleeping in his wifes arms.

Freya held the boys tiny hand as she smiled down at him, her other hand entwined with Merlins.

"Look at him," she gasped as the baby stirred, nuzzling closer to his mother.

A small noise escaped the baby's lips as his tiny hand tightened around his mothers hand and his eyes twitched, slowly opening for the first time, revealing two startlingly blue orbs that held Merlin's attention for a moment

The blue eyes flashed gold and Merlin chuckled, squeezing Freya's hand.

"Hello Will."


	2. Never a dull moment

**A/N: Should have included this in the first chapter, but this is for MildeAmasoj. Hope you like it :P **

**This is un-beta'd so... don't expect much :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin... If I did it really wouldn't have ended. **

Freya was dozing, her hand in the crib, clutched by the two-week-old baby lying asleep inside. She had sung him to sleep, Merlin having left early in the morning to tend to the kings needs.

Will hadn't cried, not once, since he was born, simply watching the world go by with a sort of knowing look, his little hands curled in tight to his body.

Freya startled awake as a she heard a pot fall from a shelf, making Will jump and Freya sigh as she watched the baby's eyes return to blue.

"You are going to be the death of me, William," she joked, watching him settle back into sleep.

Freya picked the pot up, replacing it up on the shelf. She turned and walked back to where she had been sitting, settling into her chair. She sighed as she heard the pot fall again, the baby's innocent face looking up at her as she went to pick it up.

The sun was dipping over the horizon as Merlin slipped through the door, flowers he'd picked up on the way behind his back, sneaking up behind his wife, who was humming quietly to the baby held against her chest.

"I brought you something," he whispered, causing her to gasp and turn around, giggling as she gave him a kiss and handed him the baby.

"How was your day?" she asked, turning to the pot on the stove.

"Never a dull moment," Merlin grinned, holding Will close and stroking the back of his fragile head, his raven hair silky beneath his work-hardened fingers. "What about you? Anything exciting happen?"

"Well..." Freya explained the incident with the pot and Merlin's eyes lit up as he kissed the baby's forehead.

"Oh Will..."


	3. Happy Birthday Will

**A/N: This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are my own. This is for ****MildeAmasoj, whom it is an honour to beta for :P**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin :( Wish I did though...**

Freya stood at the window, watching her son play in the garden with his fathers carved dragon and his own carved knights, the knights standing in the medium height grass in the small garden.

She smiled as his eyes glowed gold and a light breeze blew through the grass as he brought the dragon down to land, making a tiny blast of fire as the dragon took out three of the knights, Will talking quietly to himself as he told the story.

As soon as the grass ignited he quickly patted it out, looking around to check if his mother had seen.

Freya smiled at him as he caught her eye and grinned sheepishly. She half laughed to herself as he went back to his game before she turned away and took a seat beside the fire, pulling her worn out dress onto her knee and starting to fix it.

By the time she was finished, the sun was dipping low over the horizon and Freya began to wonder why Merlin wasn't home yet. She could still hear Will playing in the garden, a candle placed in the window for light.

Freya stood and crossed to the cooking pot, filling it with Will's favourite stew ingredients and leaving them to cook, before walking to the window and standing in silence with a fond smile.

Through the window she saw Merlin sitting on the floor, surrounded by small wooden figures while both he and Will moved the toys around, each of them holding a smaller wooden figure, dressed in small blue and red or brown and blue cloth.

"Look Daddy!" Will moved is figure as though it was talking to the one Merlin was tying a red scrap of cloth around the neck of. "There's a dragon over there!"

The carved dragon was placed on the ground in a small copse of grass, the ground around it slightly charred.

"You know what to do, Sir Will," Merlin responded, his wooden figure dropping behind Wills as they approached the dragon.

"What if the dragon sets me on fire?"

"You'll be fine Will, you can stop it. You have magic."

"Gregor says that magic is bad," Will hung his head, not speaking through his wooden figure anymore.

Merlin smiled, remembering something Gaius had said once.

"Magic is neither good nor bad. It's how you use it."

Merlin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, cloth-wrapped shape, handing it to Will.

"What is it, Daddy?" Will asked, his cerulean eyes curious.

"Open it," Merlin smiled.

Will unwrapped the small parcel, a wooden carving contained inside.

Freya leaned out the window slightly, careful not to disturb the scene or the candle light, trying to see the carving.

It was a small wooden representation of herself, holding a baby Will while Merlin stood close by, his hand on her shoulder, smiling down on them.

Will grinned and hugged Merlin tightly.

"Happy Birthday, Will."


	4. Butterflies

"You're late Merlin," Gwen smiled as he rushed into the almost empty room.

"Sorry I was helping Freya pack and seeing her safely set off. She's taking supplies out to Ealdor, some of the little figures Will has been learning to carve too," Merlin said by way of explanation.

"Is she taking Will with her?" Gwen inquired, moving her hair and pinning it up.

"No, Freya didn't think that the road to Ealdor was any place for a child of his age," Merlin told her, pouring her a glass of water.

"And the road to Ealdor is a place for her to be _alone_?" Gwen raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, she isn't going alone. Some others from the market have gone with her to trade a few things for-"

"There you are _Mer_lin," Arthur announced his presence by slamming open the door, talking loudly, his belt hanging loosly from his inside-out top. "Why is it you can _never_ arrive on time?"

"Did you dress yourself this morning?" Merlin almost laughed, taking in the kings deshevelled appearance.

"Yes, _actually,_ because my _idiot servant_ was late. _Again!_"

"Daddy is not an idiot," a little voice from the doorway caught everybodys attention, causing Merlin to sigh and Gwen to smile.

"Will, I asked you to stay in the kitchens," Merlin told him, rubbing his eyes as though warding off a headache.

"I got bored," the four year old shrugged, Melins wooden dragon in one hand, a knight in the other while his wooden sword hund from his belt.

"Well now you're here you might as well be useful, come here," Merlin smirked.

Will scrunched his face up in protest, making Gwen grin and Merlin laugh, Arthur standing with his arms crossed.

"Alright then, you go back to the kitchens and stay there, and I won't make you stand here with a jug of water while the king and queen eat," Merlin smiled, making the half-threat more of a joke.

Will ran from the room, making noises as he made the dragon fly along side him with his hand, crashing into Gaius a little way down the hall.

"Will, you needn't run like that, you'll get yourself into trouble," Gaius warned, handing Will a small, leather-bound book. "Meet me in my chambers Will, we'll have a look through that."

Will grinned and rushed off at the same speed.

"William," the use of his full name caused him to slow down, walking sensibly while still making the dragon noises and holding the dragon at arms length, supposedly flying.

Once in Gaius' chambers Will started to look at all the bright coloured liquids, standing in test-tube racks and in jars on shelves. He tapped on the glass of the leech tank, scareing the creature.

"When you're quite finished," Gaius smiled as the child startled. "Come here, let's get looking at that book shall we?"

Within the hour, Will had several small, cerulean butterflies, who's colour rivalled that of his bright eyes, fluttering peacefully around Gaius' room, Merlin creating a few of his own once he got there a few hours later, his a warm brown, the colour of Freya's eyes.


End file.
